Distance Education Program Area Director

Distance Education Program Area DirectorWe are seeking an individual to provide leadership for Distance Education Professional Development (DEPD), a unit within Professional Development and Applied Studies, an academic department in UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies. The position involves developing and leading a dynamic team responsible for the design and delivery of non-credit DEPD courses, certificate programs and the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning. It includes establishing relationships and collaborations with advisors, content experts and instructors for DEPD to provide resources and learning opportunities that online professionals need in a growing and ever changing field. DEPD offers well-established high quality programs that are based on a cost-recovery model. The position includes supervisory responsibility for academic staff and collegial consultative relationships with faculty.The ideal candidate will:1. Provide leadership and vision for the DEPD curriculum, including courses and certificates, and the annual DEPD conference2. Build relationships with UW-Madison units, UW-System, community partners, and the private sector to maintain and grow the reach of DEPD programs.3. Develop and lead a team to deliver high quality professional development curricula and learner-focused experiences for distance education professionals that contribute to the financial sustainability of the unit.4. Direct and grow the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning, including associated virtual conferences. This includes planning and implementing a large event by providing a vision, convening a conference planning committee, developing the conference program, contracting with keynote speakers, shaping conference and research forums, and providing oversight for online proposal submission and review processes, marketing, onsite arrangements, and other elements of conference planning.5. Monitor and manage the DEPD program area budget.6. Assure the development and delivery of high-quality online courses and certificates.7. Teach selected DEPD online courses.8. Keep current with research and best practices in the field of distance education and effectively incorporate new developments into DEPD programming. Use market research and learner feedback to guide future DEPD programming.

Requirements

Minimum number of years and type of relevant work experience: - Experience leading a team.- Subject matter expertise in the field of distance education and online learning, with a minimum of 5 years of experience in online education required, including such responsibilities as teaching, instructional design, materials development, student support services, coaching/mentoring, and/or student advising.- Experience managing conferences or other large events is desired.- Excellent oral and written communication skills.